Spied: Is This the Embryo for Honda's 'Baby NSX'?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

Spy photos of a mid-engined roadster that couldn’t possibly be a production vehicle just rolled in from California, providing a tantalizing hint that Honda’s trademarked ZSX name might find its way onto a new addition to the company’s stable.

What appears to be a design study or full-on concept vehicle could herald a production vehicle, possibly the rumored “baby NSX.” Whatever the vehicle portents, it certainly looks ready for spotlights and a revolving pedestal. The wheels and mock license plate scream to any bystander (or shutterbug) that this is indeed a Honda-built vehicle.

Speculation has run wild that Honda might field a smaller version of the Acura NSX ever since that reborn model’s 2015 unveiling. Shortly after its Detroit debut, the ZSX moniker appeared in a Honda patent filing.

When asked whether there was room for another performance car in the lineup, American Honda CEO John Mendel replied, “Absolutely there is.” Unfortunately, Mendel wouldn’t enlarge on that statement. Still, he made it clear that a more attainable two-seater, possibly with a mid-engine layout, isn’t something Honda would immediately deep-six in favor of more SUVs and crossovers.

The death of Honda’s S2000 roadster left the automaker with a void to fill. While this mystery vehicle gives more than a few nods to the NSX supercar, what with its seemingly McLaren-inspired exhaust treatment, a production vehicle could go in any number of design directions.

Should the ZSX make its way to production, Honda has a choice of powertrains. The obvious go-to would be the 306-horsepower turbo 2.0-liter four-cylinder found in the upcoming Civic Type R, unveiled this week in Geneva. That engine could be mated to a electric motor for added grunt. Early speculation stated that Honda might use the turbocharged 1.5-liter found in the Civic Si as the centerpiece of a performance hybrid system.

Time will tell whether Honda squeezes the trigger on the ZSX, or whether the concept we see here will appear in New York next month.

[Images: SpiedBilde]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • SoCalMikester SoCalMikester on Mar 09, 2017

    they should make it a 3 wheeler (2 in the front) and eat bombardiers lunch. it would, technically, be a motorcycle and not have to follow automotive regulations. they could EASILY make a better product for way less money.

  • Pig Hater Pig Hater on Mar 10, 2017

    All this does is make me wonder if TTAC isn't the equivalent of the National Enquirer for car blogs?

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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